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Article: Boyle, Robert (1627–1691)
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- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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BOYLE, ROBERT (1627
–
1691)
BOYLE, ROBERT
(1627
–
1691), natural philosopher and lay theologian. Boyle was born in Ireland, the youngest son of Richard Boyle (1566
–
1643), earl of Cork, and was raised as an aristocrat. After attending Eton, Robert Boyle embarked on a grand tour. When his travels were cut short as a result of the economic upheavals caused by the Irish Rebellion, he made his way back to England, where he found his sister, Katherine Ranelagh, living in London. After a brief stay with her (during which he became acquainted with the Puritan reformers of the Dury Circle), Boyle moved in 1645 to "Stalbridge," the estate in Dorset he had inherited
from his ...